SpaceX, Anthropic, and OpenAI Prepare for Landmark IPOs That Could Reshape Financial Markets
SpaceX is set to go public next week at a target valuation of $1.77 trillion, with Anthropic and OpenAI also filing or preparing to file for IPOs in the coming months. All three companies are unprofitable or barely profitable yet are expected to rank among the most valuable companies in the world based on future AI revenue projections. The near-simultaneous listing of three trillion-dollar-scale companies could significantly disrupt capital markets and shift enormous sums from private to public investors.
SpaceX is targeting a valuation of $1.77 trillion in its upcoming IPO, which would make it one of the ten largest companies in the world and is expected to make Elon Musk the world's first trillionaire. Anthropic filed confidential IPO documents this week, and OpenAI is reportedly preparing to do the same, with both companies also expected to be valued at or above $1 trillion. Despite these enormous valuations, none of the three companies are solidly profitable: SpaceX reported a $4.3 billion loss in just the first quarter of 2026, OpenAI remains unprofitable, and Anthropic may only post its first profitable quarter at the end of June 2026. The primary driver behind the IPO rush is the massive capital requirement for AI infrastructure, including data centers that OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has said he wants to build at a rate of one gigawatt of capacity per week. Private markets have largely been exhausted as a funding source, with Anthropic's last private round valuing it at $965 billion and OpenAI's at $852 billion, pushing both toward public markets. SpaceX is reportedly reserving up to 30 percent of its shares for retail investors, well above the typical 5 to 10 percent, potentially drawing in large numbers of individual traders. Analysts warn that three such massive IPOs hitting the market in quick succession could have outsized and difficult-to-predict effects on the broader U.S. economy and financial system.
What's missing
Coverage largely omits the regulatory landscape these IPOs will face, including potential SEC scrutiny of SpaceX given Musk's ongoing relationships with the federal government. The geopolitical implications of space-based AI data centers, which would operate outside traditional national jurisdictions, also receive little attention.
How coverage differed
The Atlantic framed the story with a dramatic metaphor emphasizing systemic financial risk and skepticism about the companies' valuations relative to their profitability, reflecting a left-leaning outlet's tendency to highlight potential economic disruption and corporate excess. Coverage from more finance- or tech-friendly outlets would likely emphasize the innovation opportunity and investor upside rather than the speculative nature of the valuations.
What different sources said
- The AtlanticLeft
Elon Musk Is Dropping a Boulder in a Kiddie Pool
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